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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26878306">Dinner, Drinks, Whatever</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/g0nes0uth/pseuds/g0nes0uth'>g0nes0uth</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>House M.D.</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Developing Relationship, F/F, Femslash, One Shot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:14:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,218</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26878306</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/g0nes0uth/pseuds/g0nes0uth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Maybe working with Dr. Hadley will make the unpaid work worth her while.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jessica Adams/Remy "Thirteen" Hadley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Dinner, Drinks, Whatever</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>House put up his feet on a nearby stool while digging for a dumpling inside his Chinese takeout box. The edge of his pants rid up a little, revealing the ankle monitor on his right leg. He noticed that the light on it sometimes flashed at a pace that mirrored his own heartbeat -- a rather annoying reminder of how the measly device was setting the pace of his life. Thirteen sat a few feet from him, working through her own box of chow mein.</p><p>"Who do you think I should bring in next, slutty or shorty?"</p><p></p><div>
  <p>The brunette chewed her food thoughtfully before answering. "You don't even have enough budget to pay for two of  your three doctors, House. I doubt those Chase and Taub would work for free even on a temporary basis."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>He knew she was right. Unlike Thirteen, Chase and Taub outright ignored all his attempts to make contact the weeks before. It was unlikely either of them would respond in any shape or form unless an attractive paycheck was involved. Which again, made Thirteen's willingness an anomaly.  "I thought you'd refuse too but here you are."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Taub has kids to take care of now so he can't afford to work for free. Chase is busy going through the list of good surfing spots in the east coast. Meanwhile I've been doing virtually nothing for the past month because working at clinics bored me out of my mind. Our circumstances aren't exactly comparable," Thirteen explained.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>House was about to answer back when Park came in through the door and confirmed their most recent diagnosis. He tried to wave her off after explaining the treatment, but Park's attention was on something else.  "Will she be joining our team now?" she asked, pertaining to Thirteen.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Yes she will," House answered. "Now I need you to grow your hair long to make my Charlie's Angels fantasy thing work out." Park only blinked at him a couple of times then walked out of his office.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"She looks fun," Thirteen commented flatly, watching Park walk off into the hallway.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Don't take her personally," House replied. "She's just young and still getting used to the craziness of it all." He paused and suddenly remembered a moment from the day before. "Actually, it's Adams that you need to watch out for."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"What do you mean?" Thirteen tried to recall her interactions with Adams the past couple of days when she helped out on their case. She thought the other doctor seemed intelligent.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>House raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "You can't possibly tell me she hasn't caught your attention. She's very attractive, very smart, and most likely totally single."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Of course I see she's attractive," Thirteen exclaimed. "But I was giving you chance to not be that guy, and now I feel like an idiot because I should've known better."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>House sneered at her. "But you'd totally hit that, right?"</p>
</div><hr/><p>Park entered the lab and set the folder with the test results on the table, near where Adams was preparing the approval forms for the treatment.  "Looks like Dr. Hadley will be joining the team after all," she muttered.</p><p>The sentence made Adams stop writing. "Seriously? House can't even afford to pay me and he's bringing in another doctor? How is that even going to work out?"</p><p></p><div>
  <p>The other doctor just shrugged. "I don't know. That's what House said."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Adams didn't say anything else in response and continued with the paperwork, although the look on her face made it obvious that she was still in deep thought about the situation. It made Park curious, especially considering their recent run-ins regarding each other's lifestyles. "You've been working here for free for a while now. Are you really bothered about getting paid? Or that you won't be the only attractive doctor in the team anymore?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Adams turned with a bewildered look on her face. "What?! I'm not worried about that!" she defended. "I just want formal employment at some point. And just because I have money doesn't mean I can work for free forever."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Park walked over and took the completed paperwork from Adams lazily. "If you say so."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>As nice as having two other teammates sounded, Park didn't find their setup all that exciting. Being the only formal member of House's team meant she was the only one allowed to file paperwork and do other administrative stuff despite there being several of them working the case. "Anyway, it's not like you're in the same exact dating field, if that's what you're worried about," Park continued as she walked towards the lab door. "Dr. Hadley is bisexual."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"How do you even know that??" The bewildered look was back on Adams' face.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I've heard nurses talk about her," Park replied. "Apparently she's got a reputation," she said before finally stepping out of the room.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Adams pondered over what she had just learned. She had to admit, she found Dr. Hadley quite intriguing. It was clear she gets along with House well and has a very good read of him, something that was only made more interesting by the fact that she herself was very hard to read. Maybe working with Dr. Hadley will make the unpaid work worth her while.</p>
</div><div>
  <hr/>
</div><div>
  <p>The team found their next case a couple of days later, and not long after they started discussing it, it was decided that they need to visit the patient's home to look for toxins. Park volunteered to do some preliminary tests, which led to the two remaining doctors automatically assigned to check the house. Thirteen had to avoid looking at House's general direction to not give him the satisfaction of having an audience for the shit-eating grin he was flashing as she and Adams walked out of the diagnostics room.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Mind if we take my car?" Adams asked as she and Thirteen walked towards the parking area.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"No. Sure let's take yours," Thirteen answered. She followed Adams through the parking lot to her fancy black sedan.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"So why did House introduce you as Thirteen?" Adams asked as they drove to the patient's house.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Oh, that was my number back when I was still competing for a spot in House's team," Thirteen explained. "I told them to call me that instead because I wasn't planning on getting invested. Funny how that worked out huh?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Adams smiled back at Thirteen in reply. She could only imagine the amount of history House and Thirteen had for the latter to still agree to work with the diagnostician after all these years, and after his time in prison. Some part of her wanted to know more about those stories, but she figured that Thirteen probably wasn't up for sharing war stories just yet.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Is that what you'd prefer me to call you, then? Thirteen?" Adams asked again. One of the things she learned in her previous job was the importance of checking with people how they wanted to be called. Inmates were very particular with their nicknames.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Yeah, that works," Thirteen answered. "How about you?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Just call me Adams. Or maybe Jessica if we're not in the hospital."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>As she was saying it, Adams noted to herself that she hadn't reached the point of getting to first name-basis with Park despite knowing her longer. Maybe they will soon enough, she thought. But then again, she was also starting to get the sense that she'd be more willing to spend time with Thirteen outside the hospital over Park.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>They soon reached the patient's apartment and learned quickly that their patient was a big slob. They identified their own territories within the unit and agreed to collect as many samples as they can.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Adams was going through the patient's food pantry when she heard Thirteen call out. "Hey Adams, come check this out!" She headed to the patient's bed room where she found Thirteen kneeling in front of what looked like the patient's bedside dresser.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"What is that??" Adams asked. Inside the dresser was an enclosed glass jar that was half-filled with what looked like used latex. As she looked closer, she suddenly realized what the material actually was.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Wait, are those condoms?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Yeah," Thirteen answered, snickering while Adams started gagging in disgust behind her. "Well, at least we know the patient is getting some. Congratulations, Mr. Tanner."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"You know, this is why dating through those apps is dangerous, hard to know beforehand if the person is a creep" Adams responded, looking judgingly at the rancid jar.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Thirteen raised her eyebrow at her colleague. "Single, I take it?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Yeah. You?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Yeah," Thirteen answered passively. She closed the door of the dresser and stood up. "Ok, no way I'm touching that thing,"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>They were waiting at an intersection on the drive back to the hospital when Thirteen noticed Adams looking at her curiously. "Why are you looking at me like that?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Would you like to go out later?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Thirteen was surprised. She remembered House's 'warning' from the other day, but even then, this was still totally unexpected. She looked at Adams and studied her face carefully. "By go out you mean like a date?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Yeah, something like that," Adams answered, following with a playful smirk. "Dinner, drinks, whatever."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Thirteen asked. "We just met a couple of days ago. Plus, we work together!"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"It's just drinks, not marriage," Adams answered. "You can say no if you're not up for it, I won't mind."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Have you ever gone out with a woman before?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Adams furrowed her eyebrows at her incredulously. "Does it matter?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Yes it does," Thirteen answered. "I'm not exactly up for being a straight woman's experiment at this point in time."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Alright," Adams responded, the defeat evident in her voice. "I've never gone out with a woman before, ok? But not because I've never thought about it. I just have never really been in a situation where I can do that. It was usually either I'd meet someone interesting but I was in a relationship or I was single but didn't meet any interesting woman to ask out."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Thirteen let out a huge breath. This is tricky. "Look, I'd be lying if I said I don't find you intoxicatingly hot, but it's too risky. If we don't work out and end up unable to be in the same room together, that would really suck."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Adams nodded slowly in response, her way of confirming she understood. <em>Intoxicatingly hot, huh?</em> She gave Thirteen a quick glance before focusing back on the road. "Ok. That's fair."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Thirteen chewed the inside of her cheeks. Refusing Adams was against her every dating instinct, but something in her head was telling her it was the right thing to do. But then again, spending time as friends doesn't count as breaking the rules.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I'm still up for us getting drinks tonight... as teammates?"</p>
  <hr/>
</div><div>
  <p>The next morning, House, Park, and Thirteen were already in the diagnostics room talking about the patient when Adams came in. She was wearing a short blue dress and had full make up on. House eyed her curiously as she walked into the room. "You're late," he said.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Technically I don't work here, so I'm actually early," Adams replied. She sat beside Thirteen had been looking at Adams since she came into view at the hallway. Thirteen caught a whiff of Adams' perfume and had to stop herself from letting out a groan. <em>She is not making this easy</em>, Thirteen though. Her brain started tuning out the DDX discussions and ran wild with the memories from them having drinks the night before. The teasing, the touching, the suggestive comments. It took all of her energy to not sleep with Adams that night, especially since the latter kept the offer open up until the very last moment.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Thirteen decided the only way to not slip at that point was to avoid Adams, so she partnered up with Park throughout the day. It worked well, since their task divisions kept her and Adams in different places during the day. All of her efforts went to waste, however, when she went to the locker room at the end of her shift and found Adams there, alone.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"If I knew us getting drinks even as friends would only make you avoid me entirely I wouldn't have agreed to it," Adams commented, not even looking at Thirteen. She sounded pissed.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"It's not like that," Thirteen started, walking closer to Adams.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"You avoided me the entire day. What am I supposed to think?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Thirteen stopped a couple of steps away from Adams. "You do know you're killing me with that dress, right? Can you really expect me to think of anything else when you're in the room looking like that?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>A mischievous smile slowly crept up Adams' face. "Maybe the point was for you to not think of anything else."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Yeah, well..." Thirteen closed the gap between them, cupped Adam's face, and placed her lips over hers. Adams opened her mouth, held Thirteen by her waist, and pulled her closer. Thirteen couldn't help but moan as she felt Adam's tongue inside her mouth, their bodies pressed hungrily against each other. She slowly led Adams into a nearby dressing cubicle, her hands already working to take the woman's dress off even before the door closed behind them.</p>
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